cordarrelle patterson

Epic failures in the red zone spoiled the Vikings’ visit to Lincoln Financial Field as the Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) handed the Minnesota Vikings (5-1) their first loss of the season with a butt-ugly 21-10 defeat. The red zone woes from 2015 appear to be haunting the Vikings’ offense again this season, and it was certainly evident on Sunday.

This Vikings Territory tradition is among my absolute favorites, but the process of awarding a “Player of the Game” following an excruciatingly lame loss like this is always less fun. It is simply less meaningful, too. However, there are always a bright spot or two worth highlighting, and considering the positives can serve as a bit of therapy during the grieving period.

Week six was a bye, so that leaves the Vikings with a 5-1 record after their 21-10 loss in Philadelphia. I had a bit of a bye week myself (in case you didn’t notice my absence) and want to take a quick second to thank Dianna and Sam at U.S. Bank Stadium for helping my family and I make some Vikings memories during the off week.

If someone were to tell the Minnesota Vikings that they would hold Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie quarterback Carson Wentz to under 150 passing yards and cause him to throw two interceptions, they would probably think the result would be their sixth win of the 2016 season.

However, that is not exactly what happened on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Vikings looked rusty and flustered throughout the day as they lost to the Eagles 21-10.

The midway point of the fantasy football season is almost upon us and anyone who owns a current Minnesota Vikings player likely is not jumping for joy over their recent performances. While it is great that the team is 5-0 this season, the skill players on the Vikings’ roster have been far from fantasy superstardom as of late.

For the people who own wide receiver Stefon Diggs or tight end Kyle Rudolph, those smiles from early in the year have quickly faded away. Hopes and dreams for these players may have to wait another week as they will be facing one of the NFL’s top ranked defenses this season in the Philadelphia Eagles.

But the one thing about fantasy football that makes it so great are the player performances that seem to come out of nowhere (Adam Thielen owners know all about this). Do any skill players on Minnesota’s roster have the potential for a big day this weekend?

Adam Thielen and Cordarrelle Patterson each caught touchdown passes to help the Vikings cruise to a 31-13 victory over the Houston Texans. With leading receiver Stefon Diggs out with a groin injury, Thielen hauled in seven passes for a career-high 127 yards and Patterson looked impressive even as a true red zone target.

The Vikings ran eight plays in the red zone (five passes and three runs) on three possessions scoring two touchdowns and one field goal.

Through five weeks the Vikings have scored seven touchdowns on 13 red zone opportunities. With a red zone efficiency percentage of 54.85 percent on the season, the Vikings currently rank 18th in the NFL in that category.